Once a month, I join the wonderful Penny Smith on talkRADIO to share some holiday bargains.
This time, it was all about looking ahead to September for some great value weekend breaks.
For most of these deals, I’ve used a website called Cheeky Weekend which has been a REVELATION to me as someone who loves a trip that only takes up a single day of annual leave. But I’ll talk more about that at the end.
FROM LONDON
London Stansted to Gothenburg
Fri 27th Sep – Sun 29th Sep
Ryanair
£38
Gothenburg is Sweden’s second city, and a brilliant way to experience a bit of Scandi bliss without having to fork out an arm and a leg (we’re looking at you, Norway).
- Average September temperature – 17 degrees
- Pint of beer – £5.79
- Three course meal for 2 at mid range restaurant – £55.70
- Cappuccino – £3.19
- One way ticket on local transport – £2.44
- For more prices, check out Numbeo!
Having been for a weekend break this year myself, I’d put the prices just a tad more expensive than London but there are plenty of options to choose from if you’re wanting to stick to a budget.
Airbnb
2 nights
£109.50 each
(you can get £25 off here if you haven’t used Airbnb before!)
This gorgeous Airbnb is close to the hip area of Haga which is full of cool bars, restaurants and shops. Plus, it has a cute balcony! Winner.
Total = £147.50 per person
Check out what I got up to on my weekend trip to Gothenburg back in January!
FROM MANCHESTER
AND EDINBURGH
Manchester to Brussels South Charleroi
Fri 27th Sep – Mon 30th Sep
Ryanair
£30
You can also depart at 0750 on the Friday for just £42 return, or from Edinburgh between Thurs 19th – Mon 22nd Sep for just £39 return as well.
Now look. This isn’t Brussel’s main airport but if you don’t fancy stumping up £133 for a return to its International hub, then this is the one for you. There’s a shuttle bus that departs every half hour that costs £13 each way, and takes an hour to get into the city, and there’s even more cost effective options if you wanted to head straight to Bruges or Ghent.
Oh, that was a spoiler for what I’ve got planned…
Whilst Brussels may not be the sexiest of destinations, the great thing about it is its quick and easy connections to other parts of the country, and so why not make this a tri-city break and hit up the picturesque cities of Ghent and Bruges as well?
- Average August temperature – 20 degrees
- Pint of beer – £3.75
- Three course meal for 2 at mid range restaurant – £56.22
- Cappuccino – £2.84
- One way ticket on local transport – £1.97
- For more prices, check out Numbeo!
As we’re staying just one night in each place, let’s keep it simple and stick to hotels.
Fri 27th Sep – Brussels
Bedford Hotel & Congress Centre
3 star – 8.0 rating on Hotels.com
£57 a night / £28.50 each
Fancy a four star? Treat yourself to the highly reviewed Novotel Brussels City Centre for £41.50 each.
Sat 28th Sep – Ghent/Gent
Next stop on our trip is the idyllic city of Ghent. A place that always holds a special place in my heart after I visited as a 16 year old with my woodwind band. Yes, you read that right!!
Train from Brussels to Gent-Sint-Pieters
29 mins
£10.86
Hotel NH Gent Sint Pieters
4 star – 7.4 rating on Hotels.com
£106 a night / £53 each
Not far from the main train station, this hotel will allow you to easily drop off your bags before you head in further to explore.
The ibis Gent Centrum Opera is also pretty basic, but at £83 a night, it may work better for your budget!
Sun 29th Sep – Ghent
Next, we’re heading to the medieval town of Bruges.
Train from Gent-Sint-Pieters to Brugge
25 mins
£8.49
Whilst Brussels is more of a business destination (hence the well priced Friday night rooms), Bruges is a well known gorgeous getaway so the rooms can get pretty pricey over the weekend.
That’s why I’ve decided to put our stay on a Sunday night, when most are getting ready to go back to work.
For example, the following hotel would have cost £169 the night before!
Martin’s Brugge
3 star – 8.6 rating on Hotels.com
£80.35 / £40.18 each
There is a cheaper room, but I’ve gone for the Charming Double with bath which looks lush!
Want to go FANCY? Stay at the 5 star Hotel Duke’s Palace for just £77.55 a night each (it was £484 a room on the Saturday evening!)
Mon 30th Sep – Brussels
Enjoy the morning in Bruges before heading back to Brussels ahead of your flight home.
Train from Bruges to Brussels
59 mins
£15.89
What an action packed weekend! And here’s how much it would all cost:
Flight – £30
Return shuttle bus – £26
Trains – £35.24
Hotels – £121.68
Total = £212.92 each
FROM BRISTOL
AND LONDON
Bristol to Cologne
Fri 6th Sep – Sun 8th Sep
Ryanair
£76
Dramatic medieval architecture and numerous beer halls – what more could you want for a weekend getaway?
You can also fly the same dates from London Stansted for just £36!
- Average August temperature – 20 degrees
- Pint of beer – £3.28
- Three course meal for 2 at mid range restaurant – £46.85
- Cappuccino – £2.37
- One way ticket on local transport – £2.72
- For more prices, check out Numbeo!
art’otel Cologne
4 star – 8.6 rating on Booking.com
£86 each
Total = £162 per person
(or just £122 from London!)
FROM BELFAST
AND GLASGOW
Belfast to Wroclaw
Fri 20th Sep – Mon 23rd Sep
Ryanair
£60
You can also fly from Glasgow for the same dates for £85 return.
Whilst the flights may be more than the others, you can more than make up for it with the price of the accommodation.
What’s more, Wroclaw is a brilliant destination for a city break. Like most of Poland, your money will go far and what’s better than a holiday where you can eat our breakfast, lunch and dinner?
- Average September temperature – 20 degrees
- Pint of beer – £1.72
- Three course meal for 2 at mid range restaurant – £23.67
- Cappuccino – £1.92
- One way ticket on local transport – 73p
- For more prices, check out Numbeo!
Airbnb
3 nights
£59.50 each
(you can get £25 off here if you haven’t used Airbnb before!)
If you want to keep the price down once you’re actually there, then I definitely recommend taking a look into Poland.
Total = £119.50 each
FROM DONCASTER SHEFFIELD
Doncaster Sheffiled to Vilnius
Fri 20th Sep – Mon 23rd Sep
Wizzair
£61
Lithuania’s capital is becoming a really exciting destination. Whilst it may be compact, it has the largest medieval old town in central and eastern Europe. Expect fairytale style buildings and a bustling cafe culture.
Plus, it’s pretty damn cheap.
- Average September temperature – 17 degrees
- Pint of beer – £2.81
- Three course meal for 2 at mid range restaurant – £32.80
- Cappuccino – £2.05
- One way ticket on local transport – 94p
- For more prices, check out Numbeo!
Airbnb
3 nights
Self check in (good for that early morning arrival!)
£67 each
(you can get £25 off here if you haven’t used Airbnb before!)
Total = £128 each
How to find your own weekend bargains
As I mentioned, a few of these deals were found using a new website called Cheeky Weekend that’s been set up by two travel mad mates. I’m a big fan of supporting new startups and this is such an easy way to discover what weekend getaways are available in your price range.
The site currently works for departures from London, Belfast, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester (there’s more to come!) and my favourite things is that you can set what time you’re able to sneak away from work at on a Friday.
The lads have a totally free version of the site available if you’re looking to getaway in the next 4 weeks.
There is a subscription fee (around £2 a month) if you’d like to unlock trips up to the next 6 months, but my recommendation would be to see how you fare with the free site first.
If you do want to sign up, you can get a 25% off your membership by using the code HOWMANYHOLIDAYS (I emailed Dave the CEO asking if he could give us a discount – CHEEKY). Since Dave’s a right gem, he’s set it up so that I will get a little kickback from this, but again, give the free site a go first before commiting to spend any money.
WE GOTTA KEEP IT SAVVY, GUYS.
If you want more cheap travel tips, give us a follow on Instagram or check out my YouTube.
I have used some affiliate links throughout this article. They don’t charge you more, but if you book through them you’ll be helping me to continue my cheap travel booking hobbies. For full transparency, I earn about 10p if you book a flight through a link so… Yeah, I’m rolling in it!
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